6/28/96

[6/28/96]

On or about this date, Ed is moved from the maximum security facility at Bucks County Correctional Center to the minimum security Men's County Correctional Center (MCCC) just up the road in Doylestown, PA.

Visits here take place at picnic benches outside in the middle of a field, virtually unsupervised. Ed can receive clothing, food, books and other sundries during the visits. We bring lots of food, as he hasn't had any non-prison food since October. He really appreciates the visits and the deliveries of toiletries, etc., since the commissary in the minimum security facility stocks mostly just food items. Most minimum security inmates have either work-release privileges or shopping privileges. Ed does not.

On July 2, Ed has his first parole interview. The parole officer explains that he had had Ed on his list to visit in June, but 'forgot'. Unfortunately, the resulting paperwork cannot be sent to the State parole office in Harrisburg until 8/1 (due to some arcane rule, paperwork can only be submitted on the first of the month). The parole officer cannot officially estimate when Ed will be released, but his best guess is in the October/November timeframe.

Shortly after this interview, Ed is approved for three weeks of "voluntary" community service work. If an inmate "chooses" not to volunteer, he gets sent back to maximum security. He must complete the three weeks of service work with no pay before he will be permitted to obtain a work-release job. Ed volunteers and is sent to do groundskeeping work at The Heritage Conservancy.

Throughout July, Ed spends several hours on the phone with Rob Bernstein of Internet Underground Magazine [ http://www.underground-online.com/ ]. It's kind of difficult, because of course Ed must call collect, so he can't phone Rob at his office. Nevertheless, Rob thoroughly researches the story, interviewing everyone from Tom Varney to lawyers, witnesses, and friends. Rob's deadline for going to press is July 26.

Rob and Ed discuss the best way for Ed to receive a final copy of the article to verify all of the facts. Rob is to overnight the article on July 21. Rob's other duties prevent him from doing so. On July 23, Ed and Rob discuss whether Ed could possibly receive a fax at the offices of The Heritage Conservancy. They agree that Rob should not send the fax unless Ed has told him he has permission to do so. The next day, Ed asks his supervisor's boss, John Thornberry, for permission to receive a fax. John does not give his permission.

On July 25, Ed reports for his next-to-last day of community service. He spends most of the day raking grass clippings, pulling weeds, and 'weed-whacking'. At around 3PM, the cord on the weed-whacker breaks. Ed's supervisor, George, tells Ed that he has done a good enough job and to take a break. Ed insists that he wants to finish the job correctly, so George and Ed go to George's workshop in the basement to replace the cord.

Ed then completes the trimming job. George tells him to take a break, as it is just about time for Ed to return to the prison. Ed goes into the Conservancy office and sees a large amount of fax spilling out onto the floor (the fax machine is in the entryway). He picks up the fax and realizes that it is for him.

The Conservancy secretary, Nancy, asks if the fax is for Ed. He states that it is for him and starts reading it. A few minutes later, Ed decides that it might not be a good idea to hold onto the fax and throws it out. A few minutes later, John takes Ed back to the prison.

Later that same evening, Ed is handcuffed, chained and shackled and taken back to the maximum security facility. He is accused of of violating the community service rules.

A day or so later, he receives a formal written copy of the charges against him. He has supposedly not obeyed the wishes of his community service supervisor and also has had an unauthorized visit from friends or family on the community service worksite. These charges are Misdemeanor I offenses under prison rules, the same category as posessing a deadly weapon or attacking a prison guard.

Five days later, the Corrections Evaluation Board (CEB) must hold a hearing to decide if Ed is guilty of the misdemeanor charges. Although Rob Bernstein sends a notarized letter stating (among other things) that Ed did not know the fax was coming and did not authorize him to send the fax, the CEB finds Ed guilty. The board also refused to let Ed bring any witnesses to the hearing, a clear denial of his due process rights.

Ed decides to appeal the ruling, as having any possible 'write-ups' against him can potentially cause him to have to wait an additional 9 months until he can receive parole. During all Ed's time in jail prior to this point, he has never received even a single write-up. Ironically, he receives this misdemeanor charge almost a full two months past his earliest parole date.

The ruling carries a penalty of 10 days time in maximum security prison. After serving 19 days of his 10 day sentence, Cummings is returned to the minimum security facility (August 12). Ed works on his appeal with some help from his friends. As soon as the appeal is filed, Ed's cell is shaken down and he is written up for having excess reading materials. He must have them removed from his cell (i.e., given to his visitors or other inmates) by the end of the day on August 18. Ed's visitors on the 18th remove about 25 books and 10 periodicals when they leave at 10AM. The guards shake down Ed's cell again at around 9PM, stating that he has not removed all of the materials by the end of the day. Although Ed tells them that he thought he had until lights out (11PM) to throw the remaining materials away or give them to other prisoners, the guards don't agree. They write him up for having excess shampoo (3 bottles).

The appeal is rejected without comment.

The next step in the process is to file a grievance. Cummings' grievance is faxed by a friend to Mr. John Henderson at the prison at 1:52AM on July 22. Around 3:30AM, the night officers at the prison wake Ed up excitedly, screaming "What are you doing? Where's the computer? Where's the phone?". They rouse Ed out of bed and put him in a holding cell while they turn his own cell upside down, searching for a laptop and/or cellular phone. After about 15 minutes, the officers question Ed, asking how he managed to send the fax to Mr. Henderson. He says he dictated the letter earlier in the evening to a friend. The officers can't seem to understand this and want to know how he got out of his cell in the middle of the night and made the payphones work (they get turned off at 11PM). He again stated that he did not send the fax himself.

Somewhat perplexed, the guards allow Cummings to return to his cell. It takes him about an hour to put it back in order, replacing his bedding, returning his belongings to his locker, and cleaning up the toothpaste they squeezed onto the floor while searching for electronic devices. Finishing his task, Ed becomes violently ill. He eventually returns to a restless sleep.

The next morning, Mr. Henderson calls Ed into his office. Henderson confirms that he received the fax but that the information he received from other prison officers as to who would hear the grievance was incorrect. The appeal was to be heard by a Cliff Mitchell, a member of the original CEB. Mr. Henderson tells Ed that he has forwarded his appeal to Mr. Mitchell. When Ed asks why none of the legal and due process points made in his appeal were addressed, Mr. Henderson does not reply. When Ed tells Henderson that he wants to advise him that his lawyer, a former federal prosecutor, is willing to take the case to court, Mr. Henderson says, "That could take six years," and orders Ed out of his office. Ed relates the above horror story to the friend who sent the fax. She phones Mr. Henderson to confirm that he received the fax.

Cummings is once again asked to "volunteer" for community service; the 20 days of unpaid labor he performed previously are no longer considered valid. He volunteers and is put to work in the fields around the prison, shoveling up semi-decomposed grass clippings in the hot summer sun. He does this for 2 days, suffering from severe sunburn and heat exhaustion. On 8/26, prison officials decide to switch Ed to pot scrubbing duty. He scrubs pots big enough to climb into for 8-9 hours a day.

Ed's cell is shaken down two more times in the next week, although no other inmates seem to be receiving this treatment. He receives an unofficial write-up for having excess paperwork and is made to remove it from the prison the next time he has visitors. The papers in question are bound transcripts of Ed's court appearances and appeals.

The grievance is rejected by Mr. Mitchell on the morning of 8/29. The next step appears to be to file an appeal of the grievance with the prison warden. Ed and his lawyer had earlier spoken about perhaps taking the case to court, but the lawyer counseled Ed to proceed with the regular prison administrative procedures first. Ed contacts his lawyer through a friend, although the lawyer is out of the country until 9/4.